Thanks to upgradation, train trips to Mumbai, Tirupati to get shorter

Thanks to upgradation, train trips to Mumbai, Tirupati to get shorter

The upgraded signalling system covers 9 stations, 17 interlocked level crossing gates and one intermediate block signal. The works were taken up at a cost of Rs 9.45 crore.

Published: 25th August 2021 05:17 AM 

By B Anbuselvan

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Travelling time from Chennai to Mumbai and Tirupati will soon come down by 20 to 30 minutes with the railways gearing up track and signal upgradation works in Arakkonam - Renigunta section to facilitate operation of trains at a speed of 130 kmph. Presently, the maximum permitted speed in the section is 105 to 110 kmph.

As part of the proposal to enhance the speed of trains in Golden Quadrilateral section and diagonal routes connecting Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata, a double distant signalling system has been installed in the 67 km track between Arakkonam and Renigunta.

The upgraded signalling system covers 9 stations, 17 interlocked level crossing gates and one intermediate block signal. The works were taken up at a cost of Rs 9.45 crore. The section has also been provided with an advanced automatic signalling system supported by Train Protection and Warning System, which ensures that no further upgradation is required for increasing the speed.

The track strengthening works in the section involves elimination of 27 manned level crossing gates, complete renewal of tracks and concrete sleepers and improvement of switch expansion joints and replacing curved switches with thick web switches.

“Construction of limited user subway, road over and road under bridge in this section is under progress. Track has been renewed completely for the 17 kms between Nagari and Puttur. Track expansion joints are being upgraded,” said a railway official. The official added that the track would be inspected and speed trials would be conducted upon completion of the works.

Unlock: Beaches crowded in Chennai, theatres still empty

Unlock: Beaches crowded in Chennai, theatres still empty

While some cinema halls screen old movies, others await new releases to help them return to business with a bang by end of the week

Published: 24th August 2021 06:51 AM |

As lockdown relaxations were announced, cinema theatres, beaches and other tourist spots saw huge crowds as people got to partake in leisure activities | V KARTHIKALAGU/ DEBADATTA MALLICK

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: At least 500 people have visited the theatre asking if there was a show, said N Kumarajan, security guard at Sathyam Cinemas. Visitors had expected theatres to be open after the State government allowed them to operate with 50 per cent occupancy starting Monday.

However, the Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association have decided to open the theatres from either Thursday or Friday, with grand re-openings, in the hopes drawing of film lovers during the weekend.

The few theatres that have opened, are screening old MGR movies, like the Palace Theatre in Tiruchy. Around 25 people watched the celebrated actor’s dual-role in ‘Enga Veetu Pillai’ movie.Thiyagarajan, a distributor and owner of a theatre said, “Not more than three theatres have opened on Monday in Tiruchy. More may open from Friday with the screening of ‘Conjuring 3’. We will only know on Tuesday.”

He added that reopening the theatres with old movies might not draw crowds. “OTT platforms are showing the most recent movies. How can we compete? Showing an old movie is not a risk worth taking. We plan to open with a theatre-only film on Friday,” he said.

One of the partners of the TPV Multiplex, Alangulam in Tenkasi, Karunakararaja, believes that despite the recent exponential growth of OTT platforms, theatres will draw a crowds as usual. They are also planning to reduce the ticket price from Rs 110 to Rs 50 as an attraction, he said.

Beach vendors happy

The opening of beaches have given renewed hopes to vendors. On Monday morning, the vendors along the Marina in Chennai were seen repairing and painting their shops as the salty breeze had caused several of them to rust.

“We have incurred a huge loss in the last four months. I had to borrow money in the hope of a huge crowd. The chairs and plastic seaters have started withering, the iron rods on the shops have rusted, the iron gas stoves have gathered dust,” said Nizamuthin, who was scraping dust from a huge stove.

Some vendors who had alternative shops managed to balance the loss, while others had to wait. “We have a horse chariot ride which is now destroyed due to the rain and wind. I only have money to restore the shop. I shall repair the horse ride after I make some profit,” said Shankari Babu

K Ganapathi who earns a livelihood taking photos of visitors on the Velankanni beach was all smiles. “On a good day, we earn about Rs 1,000. This was one such day. It is good to see people back again,” he said.

(With inputs from Antony Fernando @ Nagapattinam, Aadhithya MS @ Tiruchy, Jayalakshmi Ramanujam @ Madurai, Thinakaran Rajamani @ Tenkasi, Deepak Sathish @ Coimbatore)

Mild tremors felt in Chennai as 5.1 magnitude quake hits Bay of Bengal, no tsunami threat

Mild tremors felt in Chennai as 5.1 magnitude quake hits Bay of Bengal, no tsunami threat

Brushing aside fears, D Srinagesh, Head of the Seismology Observatory in the National Geophysical Research Institute, said there is nothing unusual about these moderate quakes in the Bay of Bengal

Published: 24th August 2021 06:29 PM 

Representational image (Photo | PTI)

By SV Krishna Chaitanya

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Mild tremors were felt in parts of Chennai as an earthquake measuring 5.1 magnitude on the Richter scale hit the Bay of Bengal region on Tuesday afternoon.

The quake, reported at 12.35 pm, was at a depth of 10 km in the Bay of Bengal and was about 296 km south-south east of Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh and 320 km east north east of Chennai, confirmed officials at the National Centre for Seismology. Meanwhile, the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre ruled out any tsunami threat.

A seismologist from the National Centre for Seismology told The New Indian Express that the location where the earthquake occurred is close to the mid-oceanic ridge. "There are two ridges which are located 85 degrees east and 90 degrees east. This earthquake has occurred close to one of these ridges. These are actually aseismic ridges, which means they are not supposed to produce earthquakes. But since these are topographically high, they are slightly active and can once in a while trigger earthquakes. In February 2019 also, an earthquake of similar magnitude was reported in the Bay of Bengal region," he explained and added that the Bay of Bengal region on the Indian tectonic plate was not prone to earthquakes.

This Indian plate ranges from the Himalayas to Africa to Andaman to 1,000 km off the Chennai coast. "It is a very stable tectonic plate," the official said. However, seismologists from Indian Institute of Sciences, Bengaluru, say it is a major concern that a quake has struck so close to the east coast of India. The last earthquake in February 2019 was reported about 447.4 km northwest of Visakhapatnam and 609.1 km west-southwest of Chennai. Now, this quake was reported just over 300 km off the Chennai coast.

Brushing aside fears, D Srinagesh, Head of the Seismology Observatory in the National Geophysical Research Institute, told The New Indian Express that there is nothing unusual about these moderate earthquakes in the Bay of Bengal region. "But, we have to keep a close watch on the underwater ridges and fault lines in the region along the east coast. Occasionally, they get seismically active when stress builds up."

He said except for one 5.1 magnitude earthquake, there were no aftershock events reported on Tuesday. The seismic stations in Chennai, Kalahasti or Warangal did not record anything. "People have only reported mild tremors for about one to two seconds," he said.

TM Balakrishnan Nair, director of Operational Ocean Services and Applied Research (OSAR) Group at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), told The New Indian Express that there was no perceived threat. "The early warning centre at INCOIS continuously monitors seismic and sea-level data. We should be concerned only when an earthquake in excess of 6.5 magnitude strikes."

The early warning centre at INCOIS detects all earthquake events of more than 6 magnitude occurring in the Indian Ocean in less than 12 minutes. Bottom Pressure Records (BPRs) installed in the Deep Ocean are the key sensors to confirm the triggering of a tsunami. The centre uses a custom-built software application that generates alarms/alerts whenever a pre-set threshold is crossed. Tsunami warnings/watches are then generated based on pre-set decision support rules and disseminated to the concerned authorities for action, following a Standard Operating Procedure.

When contacted, Director of State Disaster Management N Subbaiyan said some parts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, have only reported mild tremors. "There is no threat of tsunami or storm surge. No warnings at this juncture are warranted."

On Tuesday, many Chennaites took to social media to report the tremors. People living in areas like Adyar and neighbouring Thiruvanmiyur said they felt mild tremors, with some Twitter users saying they could even see the furniture 'shaking.'

Khatabook raises $100mn from a slew of investors

FINTECH CO

Khatabook raises $100mn from a slew of investors

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:25.08.2021

Fintech startup Khatabook has closed a $100 million Series C funding round, valuing the firm close to $600 million. The round was led by US-based VC firms Tribe Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures (MSV). Other investors in this oversubscribed round were Alkeon Capital, and existing investors B Capital Group, Sequoia Capital, Tencent, RTP Ventures, Unilever Ventures, and Better Capital. There were individual investors too.

Khatakbook is buying back $10 million worth of ESOPs to reward employees, ex-employees, and early investors. Eligible employees will be able to sell as much as 30% of their vested options. Khatabook has also expanded its ESOP pool to $50 million.

Khatabook provides software to enable small businesses to do bookkeeping, and to accept online payments. It has apps like Pagarkhata for staff management, Cashbook for expense management, and it recently acquired Biz Analyst for insight-driven decision making and business management for Tally ERP9 users.The company’s revenue grew 150% in the last fiscal. Across all its software products, Khatabook has over 10 million monthly active users. The user base is across almost every district in India.

In the next phase of growth, the venture expects to provide financial services. It is looking for partnerships to enable this. The fresh funding will also help the startup to strengthen its talent base. Khatabook currently has 200 employees.

Ravish Naresh, CEO and co-founder of Khatabook, said, “The first phase of our journey was enabling digital transformation by building a tech ecosystem for Indian MSMEs. Now that we have created a widely accepted digital platform, the next step will be digitallyenabled financial services for small businesses.”

Without textbooks, attendance will be meaningless, says HC

Without textbooks, attendance will be meaningless, says HC

Bengaluru:25.08.2021

Observing that without textbooks, attendance in schools will be meaningless and purposeless, the high court on Tuesday said the state government should ensure supply of textbooks to students of classes 9 and 10.

A division bench comprising justices BV Nagarathna and P Krishna Bhat said that the court is not satisfied with the statement on the issue of supply of textbooks. The court directed the state government to submit a status report on the progress made vis-a-vis supply of textbooks in government and aided schools till August 30.The bench suggested that education officers at taluk level send textbooks in PDF format to those who have the necessary gadgets and make an effort to provide printouts of PDFs to those who don’t.

The additional government advocate told the court that textbooks will be supplied in a phased manner by September 30. He also informed the court that a decision on resuming physical classes for students of standards 1-8 will be taken at a meeting on August 30. TNN

Website glitch holds up ticket sale for Tirupati online darshan

Website glitch holds up ticket sale for Tirupati online darshan

Sandeep.Raghavan@timesgroup.com

Tirupati:25.08.2021

Devotees booking online slots for darshan of Sri Venkateswara Swamy at Tirupati faced trouble once again on Tuesday when the monthly quota of ₹300 darshan tickets were released. This is the fourth time that the servers of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) have “frozen” in as many months. Many devotees rue that every time the monthly quota is released slow TTD servers make it difficult to book the online quota.

TTD, which manages the richest Hindu temple in the world, releases the quota for darshan every month. Sources said that TTD’s websites registered 1.1 lakh concurrent hits immediately after the tickets were released on Tuesday morning and the servers couldn’t manage the rush.

P Srikanth Reddy, a devotee from Tirupati who tried to book special entry darshan tickets for his family, told TOI that he kept waiting and refreshing the website for hours on Tuesday, but eventually could not book his tickets.

Full report on www.toi.in

‘No transparency in best state teacher awards’

‘No transparency in best state teacher awards’

Madurai:25.08.2021

School teachers in Sivagangai have alleged that there is a lack of transparency in the selection process by the district education department for nominations for the state level best teacher awards.

The state government gives Dr Radhakrishnan award to about 385 school teachers across the state. As per norms, a district level committee headed by the chief educational officer should nominate the teachers in the ratio of 1:2 towards the number of awards allotted to each district.

In Sivagangai district, around 40 teachers had submitted applications for nominations. “The district level committee generally holds interviews with the applicants to determine the nominations. This is the norm across districts. However, this time, no such interviews were held and there has been no transparency on how the nominations were selected,” said a teacher, on condition of anonymity. The teacher added that many applicants had been waiting to be called for interview. Sivagangai district CEO S Manivannan said the interviews were not conducted due to Covid safety concerns. TNN

PTR reaches out to opposition after war of words

PTR reaches out to opposition after war of words

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:25.08.2021

Taking a leaf out of his leader’s book to embrace all, finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Tuesday went to the opposition benches and was seen interacting cheerfully with former minister and MLA K P Munusamy and some AIADMK colleagues. This comes a day after a war of words broke out between them over the DMK’s unkept poll promises and the remarks that were subsequently expunged by the assembly speaker.

Minutes before the day’s proceedings commenced in the assembly, the finance minister made a dash for the opposition benches, leaving the media, the assembly marshals and the MLAs perplexed. Then Thiaga Rajan was seen searching for someone. “He is there,” a staff member politely told the minister, pointing to Munusamy, seated in the last row of the opposition benches. The minister rushed to Munsamy, who is also deputy coordinator of the AIADMK, and greeted the former minister with folded palms and interacted with him for a few minutes.

Soon after certain remarks against the member triggered a debate on Monday, with leader of opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami expressing strong objections, chief minister M K Stalin expressed regret and requested speaker M Appavu to expunge it. Munusamy rose to say the minister sought apology days ago to another AIADMK legislator for his remarks, proving his magnanimity and maturity. Only certain words used by Thiaga Rajan proved wrong at times, Munusamy said.

On Tuesday, sources said Thiaga Rajan sought to explain his remarks. “He thanked Munusamy for appreciating his magnanimity and maturity,” said a leader. The AIADMK MLAs, including former electricity minister P Thangamani, came around and greeted Thiaga Rajan, before appreciating his “work” as a first-time minister. They were all smiles.

Tamil Nadu registers 1,585 new cases of Covid-19, 27 deaths

Tamil Nadu registers 1,585 new cases of Covid-19, 27 deaths

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:25.08.2021

Covid-19 cases which has been on a decline in the state since August 12 continued to follow the trend on Tuesday with Tamil Nafu recording 1,585 new cases, taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 26.04 lakh.

The state recorded 27 deaths on Tuesday, two more than what was recorded the previous day. So far, 34,761 deaths have been recorded in the state.

According to the official bulletin, Coimbatore recorded the highest number of cases-190, followed by Chennai, which recorded 165 cases.

Of the 27 deaths, three are deaths without comorbodities, including a 27 year old man from Tiruppur who got admitted with complaints of fever and breathing difficulty three days ago.

Maximum number of deaths were recorded in Tiruppur (5) followed by Coimbatore (4). At least 23 districts recorded zero deaths.

The number of active cases as on date, including those in isolation is 18,603.

Chennai reported 165 cases on Tuesday, while the three neighbouring districts, Tiruvallur (60), Chengalpet (92), and Kancheepuram (31) together reported 183 cases.

As on date, the capital city has recorded 5,42,902 cases – 21 % of the total positive cases in the state.

The death tally in the capital city as on Sunday is 8386.

Apart from Coimbatore, which recorded maximum number of cases in the state, the other districts in the western region- Erode (138), Tiruppur (65), Salem (79) too recorded more cases.

Fresh cases of Covid-19 went down further in central region on Tuesday. Central region reported 289 fresh covid positive cases on Tuesday. The region had recorded 305 fresh cases on Monday. The number of discharged patients remain 339 on Tuesday for the third consecutive day. The active cases of the region dipped further to 3520 from 3577 of yesterday. Trichy registered 46 fresh cases on Tuesday, continuing to have fresh cases below 50 for the last few days.

Pondy administers 7.8 lakh vaccines

Healthcare authorities have so far administered 7.85 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine (including the second dose) to the beneficiaries in the Union territory of Puducherry. They have so far tested 16.16 lakh swab samples for Covid-19 infection of which 13.72 lakh samples returned negative. The territory reported 73 fresh cases even as 103 patients recovered bringing down the active cases to 765. Of them, 603 are under home isolation and treatment. A 63-year-old man from Karaikal died of the infection taking the death toll to 1,809. The positivity rate of the samples (3,131) tested on Tuesday stood at 2.3%. TNN

‘College staff to be sent on leave if not vaccinated fully’

The regional joint director of collegiate education (RJDCE), Coimbatore, R Ulagi on Tuesday issued an order to all government, aided and self-financing colleges in Coimbatore to send both teaching and non-teaching staff on compulsory leave if they were not fully vaccinated from September

1. The order follows a direction issued by the district collector on Monday to education institutions to allow their staff, who had taken both doses of vaccine against Covid-19, to resume work from September 1. TNN

Corporation status for Tambaram, five more municipalities

Corporation status for Tambaram, five more municipalities

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:25.08.2021

Six municipalities in Tamil Nadu — Tambaram, Kancheepuram, Kumbakonam, Karur, Cuddalore and Sivakasi — would soon be upgraded into corporations by merging adjoining areas with them, said minister for municipal administration K N Nehru in the assembly on Tuesday.

The move would increase the number of municipal corporations in the state from 15 to 21, help address infrastructure imbalance in areas adjoining urban local bodies and improve the living condition of people, officials said.

Tambaram would be upgraded into a corporation by merging Pallavaram, Sembakkam, Pammal and Anakaputhur municipalities and nearby areas, the minister said while replying to the debate on demand for grants for the municipal administration department. Nehru also announced that Trichy, Nagercoil, Thanjavur and Hosur corporations and Chengalpet, Poonamallee and Mannarkudi municipalities would be expanded by merging nearby developed areas with them.

₹300cr for parks & waterbodies in TN

Waterbodies and parks in urban local bodies across TN will be restored and amenities will be upgraded at a cost of ₹300 crore. The government would also roll out wage employment programme for urban poor in Chennai at a cost of ₹100 crore.

Govt decision will improve infrastructure

The elected members of the local bodies in the territories falling under the new corporations, expanded corporations and expanded municipalities would continue in posts till the next local body elections.

He announced upgradation of Pallapatti, Thittakudi, Mangadu, Kundrathur, Nandhivaram, Guduvanchery, Ponneri, Thiruninravur, Sholingar, Edanganasalai, Taramangalam, Thirumuruganpoondi, Gudalur, Karamadai, Karumathampatti, Madukkarai, Vadalur, Kottakuppam, Thirukovilur, Ulundurpet, Adirampattinam, Manamadurai, Surandai, Kalakadu, Thiruchendur, Kollankode, Mursiri and Lalgudi town panchayats into municipalities. Pugalur municipality would be created by merging Punjaipugalur and TNPL Pugalur town panchayats. The government’s decision to upgrade and expand the urban local bodies would improve the basic amenities and infrastructure in the region by better mobilisation of land resources and finance. Going by the 2011 census, 75% of the male workers in the expanded areas are in non-agricultural sector — an indication of urbanisation of the area, said an official.

‘Annual income not basis for deciding creamy layer’

‘Annual income not basis for deciding creamy layer’

Apex Court Says It Has To Be Done On The Basis Of A Mix Of Social, Economic And Other Relevant Factors

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:25.08.2021

Holding that annual earnings cannot be the sole criterion for identifying the ‘creamy layer’ among the backward communities to deny reservation, the Supreme Court on Tuesday held that it has to be done on the basis of a mix of social, economic and other relevant factors and not the economic criteria alone.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Aniruddha Bose quashed 2016 notification issued by the Haryana government by which sections of backward classes earning above ₹6 lakh per annum were to be considered as ‘creamy layer’. The bench said the decision of the state government was in violation of the principles laid down by the apex court in Indra Sawhney case.

The court said the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act, 2016 makes it mandatory for identification and exclusion of ‘creamy layer’ to be on the basis of social, economic and other relevant factors but the the state wrongly sought to determine ‘creamy layer’ solely on the basis of economic criterion and has committed a “grave error” in doing so.

“Therefore, we quash the notification, giving liberty to the state government to issue a fresh notification within a period of 3 months from today after taking into account the principles laid down by this court in Indra Sawhney case and the criteria mentioned in Section 5(2) of the 2016 Act for determining creamy layer,” the bench said. The court, however, said that admissions to educational institutions and appointment to state services on the basis of the notifications shall not be disturbed.

The court noted that the notification issued by the state in 1995 was in tune with the judgment of the court in Indra Sawhney case but the 2016 notification was in violation of the verdict.

“The said notification excluded certain persons who held constitutional posts and those who were in employment of the state and the Centre in higher posts from the benefit of reservation. In addition, the social advancement of other categories was taken into account for the purpose of including such categories in ‘creamy layer’. Strangely, by 2016 notification, the identification of ‘creamy layer’ amongst backward classes was restricted only to the basis of economic criterion. In clear terms, this court held in Indra Sawhney case that the basis of exclusion of ‘creamy layer’ cannot be merely economic,” the bench said.

Referring to Indra Sahney verdict, the court said it was held that persons from backward classes who occupied posts in higher services like IAS, IPS and All-India Services had reached a higher level of social advancement and economic status and therefore, were not entitled to be treated as backward.

“Such persons were to be treated as ‘creamy layer’ without any further inquiry. Likewise, people with sufficient income who were in a position to provide employment to others should also be taken to have reached a higher social status and therefore, should be treated as outside the backward class. Similarly, persons from backward classes who had higher agricultural holdings or were receiving income from properties, beyond a prescribed limit, do not deserve the benefit of reservation. The above-mentioned categories were necessarily to be excluded from backward classes,” the court said.

HC verdict in Kodanad case on August 27

HC verdict in Kodanad case on August 27

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:25.08.2021`

The Madras high court will deliver its verdict on a plea for further investigation into a case relating to murder and burglary at Kodanad estate, former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s summer retreat in the Nilgiris, on August 27.

Justice M Nirmal Kumar, after listening to animated arguments of Tamil Nadu advocate-general R Shunmugasundaram and two other senior counsel, reserved the verdict on Tuesday. “This issue must not be used for some other purpose, that is my only concern,” the judge said.

The matter relates to a petition filed by prosecution witness, N Ravi, seeking day-today hearing in the case and early conclusion of trial in the Nilgiris sessions court.

AG: Govt promised logical end; don’t have any intention of harming anyone

Allaying apprehensions, advocate general Shunmugasundaram justified the police inquiry held with the key surviving suspect KV Sayan, and said: “We are ultimately going to place the truth. We have no intention to malign anyone.” Ruling out any motive behind commencing further investigation in the case, the AG said it was a poll promise of the ruling DMK. “The government has promised to find a logical conclusion in the case. We have no intention to harm anyone.”

Shunmugasundaram said Section 173 (8) of CrPC does not specify that prior permission of the magistrate is required to commence further investigation. “The proviso nowhere states that any prior permission must be sought for further investigation,” he said. The investigation officer is only duty bound to inform the court and seek formal permission. They are not mandated to obtain permission, the AG clarified.

Earlier, representing Ravi, senior advocate I Subramaniam argued that police had commenced further investigation in the case even without the prior approval of the magistrate concer ned.

“The Supreme Court has made it clear that such prior approval is a must to commence further investigation,” he said.

Supporting his argument, former advocategeneral A L Somayaji said such further investigation could be allowed only till the trial commences in the case. “In the present case, the trial has already commenced. Therefore, there is no question of granting permission for further investigation,” he said.

There is a prima facie case for the court to stay further investigation, he added.

UAE suspends visa-on-arrival for desi flyers

UAE suspends visa-on-arrival for desi flyers

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:24.08.2021

The UAE has temporarily suspended visa-on-arrival for flyers from India who have been here 14 days before touching down there, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad airline said. International travel rules are constantly changing during the pandemic and travellers must check for destinationspecific requirements before planning a trip.

“The UAE authorities have decided to temporarily suspend the visa-on-arrival facility for passengers who are arriving from or been in India in the past 14 days. We're working to update our website,” Etihad’s official guest relations Twitter account said on Monday.

Oman has allowed fully vaccinated travellers from India (those who have got Covishield) starting September1. The second dose should have been taken at least 14 days before heading there, among other conditions that must be met for flyers to be allowed into Oman.

Fix I-T portal glitches by Sept 15, FM tells Infosys

Fix I-T portal glitches by Sept 15, FM tells Infosys

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:24.08.2021

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asked Infosys, the technology vendor for the faulty income tax portal, to fix all glitches by September 15, while conveying the “deep disappointment and concerns” of the government and taxpayers over the company’s failure to fix the problems even two and a half months after the platform was launched.

During her meeting with Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, Sitharaman made her displeasure known, with the company brass now realising how seriously the Centre was taking the issue, a source told TOI. The sense in the government is that Infosys was moving to remove the snags at a very slow pace, something it had done with GST Network as well where it managed to extract time from the government.

At that time, Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani had been asked to explain the issues at a meeting of the GST Council, the higher-powered panel comprising state and Union finance ministers.

“The message seems to have finally sunk in,” an official said as the FM on Monday sought an explanation from the IT company over repeated issues being faced by taxpayers, tax practitioners as well as officials. Separately, the company had also failed in providing a smooth transition to an upgraded MCA-21, a platform for corporate filings and database, and had been called out even them.

“The ministry of finance emphasised that there is a need for putting in more resources and efforts on the part of Infosys so that the much-delayed delivery of agreed services is ensured. Parekh was also sensitised on the difficulties that the taxpayers were facing and the problems that are arising on account of the delays in the functioning of the portal,” the finance ministry said in a statement on Monday.

231 hospitals get notices for not sharing patient data

231 hospitals get notices for not sharing patient data

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:24.08.2021

Greater Chennai Corporation has issued notices to 231 hospitals for not sharing data on patients treated for flu-like symptoms and Covid-19 patient discharges. In a meeting on August 13, corporation commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi had asked all private hospitals to share information on patients with influenza like illness (ILI) and Covid-19 patients.

“We had shared the e-mail

 ID  gccpvthospitalreports@chennaicorporation.gov.in with a format in which the data had to be mailed every day. But we haven't been receiving them,” said Bedi.

“Many patients undergoing treatment for Covid-19 are discharged within 3-4 days and have to be in home isolation after that. However, we recently came across a few cases where discharged patients were sources of new infections as they didn’t follow the isolation protocols,” said assistant city health officer, Mahalakshmi. Inspections revealed that some hospitals did not disinfect their premises regularly as well.

An official said data on fever cases will help them trace contacts and do focused testing to avoid clusters.

AIRCRAFT WITHIN 8KM OF EACH OTHER

AIRCRAFT WITHIN 8KM OF EACH OTHER

Near miss: Chennai-bound plane 300ft away from Vadodara flight

Mid-Air Incident On Jan 29 Over Mum Airspace

Manju.V@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:24.08.2021

The final investigation report into the January 29 near-miss involving an AirAsia India flight from Ahmedabad to Chennai and an IndiGo flight from Bengaluru to Vadodara over Mumbai airspace has found that the two aircraft came within 8km of each other with 300ft vertical separation between them.

The report also looked into the changes brought about due to the pandemic which had restricted manpower at the Mumbai air traffic control.

The serious incident occurred over an area about 30km east of Vapi. To fly from Ahmedabad to Chennai, aircraft typically overfly Bhavnagar, but on that day, the AirAsia flight plan had the aircraft follow a route that is normally taken by aircraft descending to land in Mumbai, said the report released recently by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. Also, the IndiGo aircraft coming in from the south was allowed to head directly to a point that lies over Ankleshwar, near Bharuch. Due to these changes in routing, both the aircraft were now flying towards each other, at different altitudes though. The automated system at the Mumbai air traffic control issued a ‘predicted conflict warning’, which the radar controller failed to respond to, the report said.

By the time the controller realised the potential conflict, the AirAsia aircraft at 38,008ft and the IndiGo aircraft at 38,000ft were closing in.

‘Potential mid-air collision also a result of changes brought on by pandemic’

The automated traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) in the AirAsia cockpit blared an aural command instructing the pilots to climb. The aircraft climbed up to 38,396ft, moving safely away from the 38,000ft altitude that IndiGo was on. The report said that the minimum separation between both aircraft was recorded as 8km laterally when the climbing AirAsia aircraft was 300ft below IndiGo aircraft and it was 6.5km laterally when the AirAsia aircraft was 500ft above IndiGo aircraft after having crossed its path.

The report recommended suitable corrective training for the radar controller concerned. But the potential midair collision was also a result of the changes brought on by the pandemic. With limited manpower in the Mumbai air traffic control and fewer flights, the controller handled traffic over a much larger area. While air traffic was down after the two-month ban on domestic flights in summer 2020, it had picked up considerably in the latter half of the year, and by January, the workload on the lone controller would have gone up. The report recommended that the Airports Authority of India reassess the volume of traffic in all sectors which were withdrawn due to less number of traffic during the Covid-induced lockdown and implement sectors as before the pandemic.

The report also looked into the changes brought about due to the pandemic which had restricted manpower at the Mumbai ATC

1.6 crore people miss 2nd Covid shot, health ministry data shows

1.6 crore people miss 2nd Covid shot, health ministry data shows

Among Them, Over 1crore In 60-Plus Group

Rema.Nagarajan@timesgroup.com

24.08.2021

At least 1.6 crore people in India are yet to get second shot of the Covid vaccine 16 weeks after their first, the longest recommended gap between two shots. Over a crore of them are among the elderly, and the rest are from other vulnerable groups such as health and frontline workers and those aged over 45.

The1.6 crore figure was arrived at by looking at how many people had got their first shots as of May 2, that is 16 weeks back, and comparing it with the total number of those who have so far got their second. All data is from press releases issued by the health ministry.

The government had on May 13 approved a gap of 12-16 weeks for Covishield, which accounts for over 85% of all vaccinations; for Covaxin, it’s a much shorter 4-6 weeks.

Weekly cases fall in all major states

There were no signs of a third wave in Covid data from the week ended Sunday, with 32 out of the 36 states & UTs showing a fall in cases. In the four states/UTs where cases rose, the numbers were too low, reports Amit Bhattacharya. Cases dipped by 10% in Tamil Nadu, 10% in Kerala during the Onam week, 19% in Maharashtra, 24% in Andhra Pradesh, 16% in Karnataka and 15% in Odisha.

3.9cr eligible for second shot & yet to be jabbed

The number of people whose second shots are delayed beyond the recommended interval may well be higher since the calculation for 1.6 crore is based on 16 weeks for Covishield and not six weeks for Covaxin. So, the figure for those who’ve got both doses so far includes many who received their first shot after May 2.

The number of people who are eligible for their second shot – after 12 weeks – and are yet to be fully vaccinated is 3.9 crore (again, this number may be higher since the minimum gap for Covaxin is four weeks compared to 12 for Covishield).

A variety of factors may be at play for people not getting their second doses even after the maximum recommended interval.

Full report on www.toi-.in

Times View

The Covid numbers are coming down. But a lag in vaccination helps nobody’s cause. These are vulnerable groups and the government must be proactive in vaccinating them at the earliest and ensure that they retain their protective cover.

Use of term ‘mental retardation’ in statutes triggers HC’s anger

Use of term ‘mental retardation’ in statutes triggers HC’s anger

HC Frowns At Centre, State Over Using Term Even In Official Use

Rosy.Sequeira@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:24.08.2021

The Bombay high court on Monday frowned at the Centre and state over use of the term ‘mental retardation’ in statutes and even in official use.

“Lunacy, mad man, mentally retarded are antiquated... I am not going to, even if required, look at these statutes. In my court if these words are used, an order of cost will follow,” said Justice Gautam Patel.

He heard a suit by the son of a physician (57) from Byculla to appoint him his legal guardian to manage his movable and immovable assets, bank accounts and affairs. The father has been in a vegetative state since June 28, 2018, after a massive stroke that resulted in acute brain injury due to oxygen deprivation. He was discharged on August 5, 2018. The neurologist’s January 2021 report confirmed his condition and added that he is bedridden and though conscious, not oriented with time, place and person. He has severe comorbidities like diabetes and hypertension. He is hemodynamically stable, but he is not able to perform any task or take a decision.

The son’s advocate Pramod Tambe said the suit is filed under Order 32-A (2) (guardian of a person under a disability) of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 as there is no other provision in the law for persons in such condition. The state’s advocate Jyoti Chavan said it is an “unfortunate case,” and a panel of JJ Hospital must be directed to examine the patient and file a report. But the judge asked whether the state is disputing the report of a private hospital which is better than JJ Hospital. But the Centre’s advocate Yogeshwar Bhate said the petitioner must apply under the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999, and a trust (committee) will decide his application. Justice Patel questioned whether a family member of someone who suffers a stroke is expected to approach the trust to be appointed guardian and why they cannot approach the court. He also said the Act will not apply to a clinical condition.

It was then that he took note of the words “mental retardation” in the title of the Act. “It has terms like autism, cerebral palsy, multiple disabilities. But mental retardation? Whoever has drafted this is retarded,” said Justice Patel. He said antiquated statutes with such terms must be repealed. “Talk to your attorney general,” he told Bhate.

The Bombay HC was hearing a suit by the son of a Byculla physician, who suffered a debilitating stroke, to appoint him his legal guardian

Lunacy, mad man, mentally retarded are antiquated...Whoever has drafted this is retarded. I am not going to, even if required, look at these statutes. In my court if these words are used, an order of cost will follow

—Justice Gautam Patel

After colleges reopen, over 600 students test Covid positive in Dakshina Kannada

After colleges reopen, over 600 students test Covid positive in Dakshina Kannada

The department has asked some colleges to stop offline classes and continue with online lessons.

Published: 24th August 2021 06:02 AM 

Even as the third wave looms large, people continue to flout Covid rules by not wearing masks | Express

By Divya Cutinho

Express News Service

MANGALURU: Over 600 students in Dakshina Kannada -- mostly from neighbouring Kerala -- have tested positive for the coronavirus weeks after exams were conducted, and physical classes resumed in the district. As many as 29 institutions have been declared containment zones.

Dr Ashok, district nodal officer for Covid-19 in Dakshina Kannada, said many colleges have been served notices for their failure to follow Covid procedures and protocol during exams and offline classes. “Most of the students who appeared for examinations in the past few weeks, tested positive due to failure of some institutions to follow precautionary measures,” he said.

The infected students are in quarantine in their respective hostels, some are in flats and a few in Covid Care Centres. As per data available with the health department, so far, 620 students have tested positive in the district. The department has asked some colleges to stop offline classes and continue with online lessons.

“We have assigned those having a medical background only to monitor students in hostels, after many students who were primary contacts, were not quarantined. Students who were supposed to be in quarantine were using the common dinner room and were put in the same wing. One of the students who was asked to quarantine went home, and a case was lodged against the institution,” said Dr Ashok.

Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V, during a review meeting on Monday, said that 600 to 900 students who produced RT-PCR negative reports have tested positive. “The college managements were found to be negligent, and if they don’t follow proper quarantine period, FIRs will be filed,” he said.

Thiruporur bypass to be ready by January

Thiruporur bypass to be ready by January

After acquiring the land, it may take at least six months for completing the works, according to official sources.

Published: 23rd August 2021 03:25 AM |

For representational purposes

By B Anbuselvan

Express News Service

CHENNAI: After a prolonged delay, one of the two bypasses proposed along Old Mahabalipuram Road at Thiruporur will finally be completed by January, said a senior official from Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC).

This will help motorists heading towards Puducherry and Mamallapuram enter ERC by skipping the congested Thiruporur Junction. Meanwhile, another bypass proposed at Kelambakkam is facing hurdles as a portion of road passes through a saltpan. After acquiring the land, it may take at least six months for completing the works, according to official sources.

As part of widening of 25-km IT Expressway (Rajiv Gandhi Salai) from Siruseri to Mamallapuram into six-lane, two six-lane bypasses were proposed at Thiruporur and Kelambakkam under Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Programme (TNIPP) phase II.

In the first stage, TNRDC took up construction of two bypasses in 2018 at a cost of Rs 247 crore and planned to complete it by 2020. However, works got delayed due land acquisition issues and lockdown.

The 7.45-km long Thiruporur bypass proposes to connect Kalavakkam village with Thandalam, skipping Thiruporur junction.

To facilitate smooth passage of locals, a pedestrian underpass will be built at Hindustan Engineering College in Pudur. Similarly, Kelambakkam bypass road which starts at Pudur in OMR and ends at Thaiyur village, will cover the 4.67-km distance without entering Kelambakkam.

“As per the Centre’s guidelines, we can commence construction works only after remitting the land acquisition cost. Recently, the State government released `95 crore for the project. The saltpan will be acquired after approval from the salt commissioner, and it may take at least six months for completion of road works,” said the official.

S Kumaravel, a resident of Kelambakkam said, “Even during lockdown, Kelambakkam and Thiruporur Junctions were facing huge traffic snarls. Taking advantages of the lockdown, several long-pending projects were completed in other States, but the six laning of OMR which has been delayed for more than 10 years, is still moving at a snail’s pace.” As per the traffic survey in 2017, vehicle volume in OMR was 75,000 a day and is projected to reach one lakh over the next three to five years.

Avoid crowding medical colleges in Chennai, other TN cities: Madras HC

Avoid crowding medical colleges in Chennai, other TN cities: Madras HC

Since the government counsel submitted that the applications seeking approval for the colleges are pending before the NMC, the judge disposed of the petition by calling it premature.

Published: 24th August 2021 05:13 AM 

Madurai Bench of Madras High Court

By Express News Service

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court recently advised the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the State Government to avoid establishing medical colleges in and around Chennai or other cities where medical colleges already exist.

A division bench of Justices, N Kirubakaran and B Pugalendhi observed, “Once a medical college is established, it is not only for teaching the medical students but also for treating the people residing in that area. Crowding medical colleges in one area will not help the people at large.”

Therefore, the National Medical Commission has to see that the approval is granted only to the colleges established in the area where there is no medical college at all so that the treatment facilities in the ‘unserved area’ could be improved, judges opined.

“The court hopes that in future, the State government, as well as the National Medical Commission, would not approve any medical college in and around Chennai or in any other city which has already got enough medical colleges like Pondicherry,” they said.

The judges voiced the opinion in a petition filed by a medical aspirant last year, seeking direction to include 11 newly established government medical colleges in the 2020-2021 medical counselling.

Since the government counsel submitted that the applications seeking approval for the colleges are pending before the NMC, the judge disposed of the petition by calling it premature. They gave the above suggestion after noting that out of the 25 private medical colleges in the State, over 16 colleges are located in and around Chennai.

Govt ‘summons’ Infy CEO after tax portal outage

Govt ‘summons’ Infy CEO after tax portal outage

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:23.08.2021

A day after the income tax portal became “unavailable”, the finance ministry on Sunday said it has “summoned” Infosys CEO Salil Parekh on Monday to explain why errors have not been fixed even two-and-a-half months after the platform was launched.

Although the “emergency maintenance” of the site was completed on Sunday evening, and it went live again, the shutdown had caused considerable embarrassment. On Saturday, Infosys had tweeted about a “planned maintenance”, though the tax department had remained silent about it until about 2pm on Sunday when it tweeted about the Infosys CEO being “summoned”. During this time, users had come across a message, saying the “portal is going through a maintenance”.

Last week, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj was regularly monitoring the issue and the glitches would be removed soon.

‘I-T portal launched without enough tests’

Government functionaries have asked Parekh to meet them again on Monday.

This is the second time that the government has publicly named Infosys in the case. Two months ago, the company brass held consultations with the FM and other stakeholders after she had flagged the concerns on social media, hours after the June 7 launch.

Sunday’s tweet points to the government’s growing impatience over the quality of service offered by Infosys, with GST Network and MCA-21 (for corporate filings and database) being other assignments where the Indian tech giant’s role has come under the lens. While the government has repeatedly blamed the IT vendor for the problems with the new income tax portal, it has offered no response on how a faulty system was allowed to go live by officials handling the high-profile project. Some of their colleagues and former tax officials have suggested that sufficient tests were not conducted before the system was launched.

A source said the portal was ready for launch last year itself, but rollout was planned to be done in phases, a decision that was changed later. A questionnaire sent to the Central Board of Direct Taxes on Sunday remained unanswered, while Bajaj did not respond to text messages. In the past too, tax authorities have refused to offer any explanation on how the department had failed to spot multiple glitches in the platform. The problems with the portal have already prompted the tax department to offer some concessions. Besides, officials have blamed the snags for a massive slowdown in tax refunds.

Between April and August 16, refunds added up to Rs 49,696 crore against close to Rs 96,000 crore between April and August 25 last year. The number of refunds which added up to over 25.5 lakh till August 25, 2020, have dropped to 22.7 lakh so far this year. Also, repeated disruptions have led to demands to defer the deadline for filing returns apart from seeking other relaxations.

Although some experts had suggested reverting to the earlier system till the issues in the new portal were sorted out, Sitharaman has ruled out the possibility. “While several of the issues have been resolved, new problems keep coming up,” a leading CA said.

“The new e-filing portal was expected to replace the existing e-filing portal. It was viewed to create a strong technology backbone by enabling (a) host of new functionalities to taxpayers, including enhancement of look, feel and usage experience. We regret to say that after the expiry of more than two months, the portal is still not functioning and is suffering from several serious problems,” the Bombay Chartered Accountants’ Society said in a letter to the FM on August11.

Sunday’s tweet points to the government’s growing impatience over the quality of service offered by Infosys

Sacked engg faculty now in demand, get hired for a day as colleges eye affiliation

Sacked engg faculty now in demand, get hired for a day as colleges eye affiliation

Nirupa.Vatyam@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:23.08.2021

Engineering faculty members, who were relieved during the pandemic, are now said to be in demand as several colleges are hiring them for the one-day inspection to get affiliation for the academic year 2021-22.

Colleges are said to be paying ₹15, 000 to ‘act’ as faculty for one day and are looking for ratified faculty with all necessary documents-- Selection Committee Meeting (SCM) record, faculty ID and relieving letter. Messages are said to have been sent out through third-party consultancies to lure faculty who are without pay for the last one-and-half years or so. “Vacancies for M Tech-CSE visiting faculty. Certificate verification. Only a single visit ₹15,000. Only ratified candidates having 2020 and 2021 as relieving years are eligible,” read a message received by some of the faculty members in the state.

Faculty said that a majority of colleges are having openings across the branches and have been hiring thousands of them since the last week to have the required number of faculty members for inspection. “When I called on the number mentioned in the message, they said that they will hire immediately and that I just have to go on the inspection day,” said a faculty member, who used to work in the computer science engineering department at a private college. In the state, there are about 175 engineering colleges, of these, majority are affiliated to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTUH).

While JNTUH officials said that about 25, 000 faculty members are working as engineering faculty in affiliated colleges, faculty members claimed that not even 50% of these faculty are being paid salaries and many of them have been sacked during the pandemic. The JNTUH officials questioned why faculty members are supporting managements by accepting their offer for a day. “There is no way for us to see if a faculty member just came for inspection or has been working in that particular college. Faculty should not take up such offers as we go by the data uploaded by colleges on our website and verify the same when our teams go for inspection,” said an official. The official added that if found guilty, the number of seats will be reduced according to faculty-student ratio. Colleges have time till 7 pm on Monday to apply for affiliation with a 100% late fee.

Colleges are said to be paying ₹15, 000 to ‘act’ as faculty for one day and are looking for ratified faculty with all necessary documents— Selection Committee Meeting record, faculty ID and relieving letter

Faculty demand biometric attendance at engg colleges

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad:

To put a check on ‘fake faculty’ being hired by engineering colleges, the faculty demanded that the officials make biometric/iris attendance mandatory and conduct reinspection if there are any discrepancies in the faculty details submitted during the inspection and biometric attendance.

They said that in the next one week or so, the technical education department officials or universities concerned should take this step and initiate action against thousands of faculty members and college managements, who are joining in colleges just for one day. “The officials should take stern action against erring managements and faculty as per the All India Council for Technical Education norms,” said A Santosh Kumar, president, Telangana Schools Technical Colleges Employees Association.

Faculty members said that the officials should cancel the affiliation and blacklist faculty members if they are found violating norms.

They alleged that the factfinding committees (FFC), which are inspecting colleges, are not even checking bank statements of the faculty to see if college managements are paying salaries regularly to faculty members and are only going by the count given by the managements. They said that FFC should strictly verify whether the colleges have required infrastructure and faculty and only then grant affiliation to colleges for the current academic year.